Semi-Crystalline/Amorphous Polymer Blend Films Formed by MAPLE

POSTER

Abstract

An enabling film processing method, termed Matrix Assisted Pulsed Laser Evaporation (MAPLE), is employed to investigate the morphology and thermal properties of polymer blend systems comprising both miscible and immiscible pairs: poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO)/ poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and polyethylene (PE)/PMMA. This novel technique holds an intrinsic uniqueness in that it features ultra-slow deposition rate, thereby allowing the simultaneous film growth and crystallization of molecules atop a temperature controlled substrate. In this work, the effect of substrate temperature as well as growth rate on film structure and thermal properties are probed with the aid of morphological, calorimetric, and scattering characterizations. Compared with solution casted films, variances sourced from the new approach help to understand the functionality of an existing amorphous polymer in semi-crystalline/amorphous binary systems, especially regarding the impact on melting point differentiation and change of crystalline structures.

*Princeton Center for Complex Materials, a MRSEC supported by NSF Grant DMR 1420541

Authors

  • Yucheng Wang

    • Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
    • Princeton University

  • Mithun Chowdhury

    • Princeton University
    • Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA

  • Hyuncheol Jeong

    • Princeton Univ
    • Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
    • Princeton University

  • Rodney Priestley

    • Princeton University
    • Princeton Univ
    • Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
    • Princeton Univ, Dept. of Chemical and Biological Engineering